Contructing the Contents page

After constructing my Front page I then had to produce a contents page. One thing was for certain, and that was that it had to link to my front page. This could be achieved by using the same colour scheme. Also I used a different font to that of the title, I used the same one as the tag line. One of the things I was criticised for in the preliminary task was the that my fonts looked too similar. So this time around I used a clearer and distinct fonts. For the background of the contents page I added effects to give it a Punk/Gothic look to it. I divided the page into two. The bottom half contained the magazine exclusive and it took up the whole of the bottom half of the page. I placed a picture of the band and added some lighting effects and out glows. I also wrote the words 'STAGE EXCLUSIVE' in clear lettering so it was obvious what the main story was about. I also placed a picture of the band as articles normally have a picture next to them about showing who it is about. I decided to place the word Contents in a slanted position in the top left hand corner and bigger than the rest of text as it is the title of the page. In the rest of the top half of the page i put other stories and articles that would be included in this magazine.

After receiving feedback on my contents page I then made some minor adjustments to it. For example I made 'Stage Exclusive' in even bigger lettering and I also added some more text. One thing that I haven't mentioned is the the reason for the choice of font colour. I chose to do white on black and white on black. I did this for the obvious reason that they are two contrasting colours and stand out.

Constructing the front page

The very first thing I did for my front cover was to think of a colour scheme that would fit the theme of my magazine which was, punk rock. I was thinking about what colour go well and when put together stand out. After thinking about it for a while I thought that two complementary and suitable colours for my magazine would be black and white.

Although, one thing I had to be careful with was not to over use these colours as they can sometimes come across as quite dull. After thinking of the schemes I then thought about the positioning, font and colour of the font. 'Stage' was my title and I decided to make my title black with a white outer glow to make it leap off the page and noticeable. When I was happy with how my title looked I then had to add the tag line to it which was 'Where music is expressed'. I played around with the positioning of the tag line and thought it would be a good idea to place it on top of the title and made it white so it contrasted with the title and was also noticeable. In the top right hand corner I put the price and issue number. After my research of existing magazines I Put the price of my magazine as '3.20'.

Other features I included in this top quarter of the front page was the issue number and price of the magazine. Once I created the top quarter of the magazine front cover, I introduced the pictures form my photo shoot. Another reason why I chose the black and white colour scheme was that my model, were wearing black and white so I thought it would be appropriate to choose the colour scheme that I did.

After, choosing and editing appropriate images of my models, I placed them so they took up most of the page. I also added effects to the pictures, so that they looked like they were part of the front page. After adding my models to the page I then put the band name and logo on it. The top half of my magazine was now pretty much finished and then i has to work on the bottom half. One of the first things I did on the bottom half of the front cover was to create an 'also inside' bar. I made it glow at the top so it was noticeable and faded it a bit so the bottom half of the models could be seen faintly.

Free poster, Exclusive and also inside have all been written in very magazine cut out like writing. This was done as it fits in with the genre of my magazine, Punk rock and they are big and stand out as the main things that dominate this issue of my magaizne. I've decided to choose about 3 or 4 different fonts to use on my front cover as , form my research, it seems to be the magazine convention to use different fonts for differetn purposes. My front page also Contains the pyramid formation as the bulk of the magazxine is at the bottom magazine, leaving the top half quite textless as form research again seems to be another convention of music magazines.

After some feedback on my original front cover I made ammedmends by making the tagline clearer and making Exclusive and Free poster clearer.

Plan for 30/11/09

Choose and edit pictures- I have to choose the pictures i want to use for my magazine and edit them to satisfy myself and to be appropriate and gives an impact on the page for the construction of the production.

Construct front page- Using Desktop publishing I will merge all my ideas and create my front page. Once I've chosen appropriate images I can then create a front page. Also, I need to keep in mind the magazine conventions and research.

Construct contents page- Same applies for the contents page. I need to come up with other stories that I can include on the contents page. Also choosing appropriate fonts, font sizes and photos are also important.

Ask for feedback- Asking for feedback after my first attempt is important as it allows me to improve and receive constructive criticism to make my work better. Also it will allow me to see if I've met my own personal objectives, such as quality.

Make amendments- After receiving construct e criticism i can edit my pages based on what I have been told I can do to make it better or what isn't clear.

Of course apart form this I need to blog all my findings whilst I'm doing this.

Photoshoot...

The pictures for my coursework had to be original, which meant that I had to take them myself. So, this being a music magazine and all I had to take pictures which related to my music convention genre, Punk rock. For ,my photo shoot I had to make sure the models I was using dressed up to look like a Punk rocker. I chose a girl for my photo shoot and asked if she could dress and look like someone who was part of a punk band. I was using the same person to make a twin band but each character would be dressed differently and would have a different style, this is key as they cannot look identical as it wouldn't show much diversity. For my first character, Sam ,my model dressed up in a black and white clothing which included high heels, a skirt, a black top and a black and white stripy tie, she also had very glamorous make up as Sam is the more glamorous out of the two sisters. For this photo shoot I had to graphic match both of my characters so every shot i made with one character I had to match it with a similar one for the next character. For my second of the sisters, Izzy, I made my same model dress up differently by making her wear jeans, a cross, blazer and her hair and make up were messy and looked slightly Gothic. This was done purposely to make Izzy look like the tough one out of the two. One thing that was crucial to this photo shoot was that my model put herself int he shoes of my characters as it would allow the best quality pictures to be produced.

Sam



Izzy

These are the pictures I am going to use for my magazine. I'm not going to do any hard editing on these photos. I am probably going to take away red eye and airbrush them. The reason that the background is so plain is so it is easier to crop the picture out of the frame so it looks cleanly cut around the edges.

This photo shoot was very productive as I managed to take enough photos for the production of my magazine.

Considering OBJECTS, SETTING and FIGURE

After looking at theme, colour and lighting we then had to look at the objects, setting and figures surrounding our magaiznes. In a nutshell, we had to think about the mise-en-scene of the images we choose for our magazine.



Again, my photo shoot was the perfect chance to consider and to put into practiuse all these things:



Objects- What objects could be in each shot?. This can include from jewellery to guitars, every single thing in the shot shot be noticed. I was thinking more along the llines of wearting symbolic things like a cross and wearing objects of identity such as make up



Setting- What is the set going to look like? It could be plain or be have a realy busy set. I was thinking of not having such a busy background as it will draw attention away from he model.



Figure- How are my models goign to pose? This is important as their poses will say alot about them and will also allow interpretation of their expressions and body language. I want my models to pose wildly and free spirited as it would allow genuine photos to be produced.



Also considering semiotics and my photoshoot i wanted most of my pictures to be iconic so they show exactly what they show and they are what they represent.

Considering THEME, LIGHTING and COLOUR

In today's lesson our group were split into groups of three and looked at an article from a music magazine. After skimming through he magazine article we had to look at 3 different things: Theme, lighting and colour.

The magazine my group given was Classic rock and we focused on the main article which was on 'The mysterious death of Jimi Hendrix'. First of all, my group looked at the dominant colours of the article, which were black, whites, greys, purples. Jimi Hendrix was written in multicolour which could have been done to show the charisma and personality that Hendrix had. There was also suttle reds throughout the article.

In addition to this, the pictures in this article were very iconic images and the majority of them were in black and white, showing that Hendrix was from a past time era and the lighting on each of the photos focused on his face. Another reason to why the photos might of been edited and presented in this way links back to the main issue in the article, 'the mysterious death of Jimi Hendrix'. Although there are dominant black and white images right at the end of the article is a coloured picture of the rock star, suggesting that we should remember him for his true personality and nature instead of all the negative vibes and conspiracies that surround him.

After this task, individually we had to go through the same process for our task, thinking about ideas for our front covers and what colours to use. Also when having the photoshop, thkning about the lighting. Overall, after thinkning of these things the most important thing of all is that it has to link to the theme of our magazines. The theme of punk rock so baring this in mind i had to use my photoshoot as a chance to think carefully about the colour and lighhting of the photos.

Thinking about a band...

For this music magazine one of the crucial elements was to come up with a band that would be included on the front page and be the basis of my magazine (interview etc.)

After storming up ideas in my head i thought of a unique and different idea. I decided to create a twin sister punk rock band. Now that I got the basis of my band I had to generate a story behind them, this is key as I am compiling and interview as well. Before I created a story behind my band I had to create a name for it, this was very tricky. I wanted a totally original and unique band name. After, looking at a thesaurus and dictionary for a very long time I came up with a name, 'Sacramental liaison'. After creating a story I then created a bit of a story.

My band are made up of twin sisters that are rebellious, young, revolutionary Punk rockers that have been through a lot and have seen it all. their journey to the top has truly been a roller coaster ride. They've done drugs, kicked a band member out and were kicked out of their house, their lives have been filled with violence. They were found at a young age by a legendary Punk rocker/ Manager , Gaz. Sam and Izzy are the two members. Sam is the more glamorous and neater one of the sisters. Izzy is the tough nut, messy sister that has a short temper.

I am hoping to express all this in my interview and show their characters and personalities through the photos i take in my photo shoot.